By Peter Olorunnisomo – Trade between Nigeria and Belgium has actually thrived better than most will perceive. It was the trade in used cars popularly known as ‘Tokunbo’ that flourished the mega-markets of Alaba, Okokomaiko, Ladipo, (all in Lagos) and Aba.
So well did it thrive in meeting the yawning gap created by the need to the demands of the Nigerian middle class that was refusing to die in strangle-hold of economic hardships that it raised a different breed of middle class people who did not necessarily have the tilt towards education or the socio-political engine room of governance called the public service.
Yet they serviced the public’s demand for all things foreign as the local industries suffered from the ‘starvation’ of power and fuel not to mention the increasing cost of transacting business due to heavy rounds of back-handers.
Yes, Belgium was in Nigeria so much that Belgium was no longer a nation’s identity but a brand name – you did well to buy anything ‘Belgium’ though it was 2nd hand. Belgium became the slandg for the upwardly mobile announcing their arrival.
In football as well, our darling soccer stars of the 1980s also tripped overs to Belgium and that did open doors. It allowed the likes of late Stephen Keshi and co to find their way to Europe which later did much to improve our football. Unfortunately the coaches didn’t go to Belgium.
Now that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) administration is making moves to synergise through the sea port in an endorsed arrangement with Belgium, leaves not knowing whether to clap. All along the trade was there.
What wasn’t there was the tight protection of our seaways to harness the required revenue and make the waters safe and environmentally sanitised. These days port arrangements draw these traits for effective administration and the lull of port-fairing in trade.
Cotonou has done quite a healthy bit with goods from Belgium to date so the strategy and intent of NIMASA’s agreement need be clearer and strategic.
It is reported that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has unveiled plans to partner with the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, to boost trade and encourage foreign direct investment opportunities in the Nigerian maritime sector.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, disclosed this when he hosted a team from the Port of Antwerp led by the Director, Africa Port of Antwerp International, Nico Vertongen, in Lagos.
At the meeting, the D-G said the Port of Antwerp had a long standing relationship with the ports community in Lagos, noting that from 2017 till date, 302 vessels have called between the Belgian port and the ports in Lagos. He said within the period, 33 vessels conveyed export goods from the port of Lagos terminating at the Port of Antwerp, with 22 Belgium-flagged vessels calling at Nigerian ports and several other volumes of transaction.
Dakuku said the Agency was willing to consolidate on the gains of the Nigeria-Belgian relationship.”We have always had a business relationship with the port of Antwerp either as destination ports or ports of origin. We are glad to know that you are in Nigeria and planning to lead a business mission sometime in November, to the Lagos Port Community. Our position is straight forward and clear; we welcome the business mission with our doors open and believe there is a lot we can do together,” the DG said.
Peterside also said the meeting in November will be the beginning of a mutually-beneficial relationship in diverse ways that will also give opportunities for the exchange of ideas.”It will also open opportunities for training for our people and it will give you a better understanding of how the ports in Lagos, Nigeria, in Africa work, leading to the volume of trade between ports and other operations,” he added.
He, however, expressed concern about the isolated negative representation of the Nigerian maritime sector in the media, saying efforts were being made to stem it.He told the delegation that the Agency, which has the responsibility to ensure maritime security in the ports and waterways, had put in place a number of strategies, including a legal framework on piracy and maritime crime and acquisition of assets to build up response capability, to stop the pirates and criminals from operating within the coastal waters.
“Therefore, in November, we will have the opportunity of setting up business to business meetings; we have a number of Nigeria businesses that are interested in doing business with operators in Belgium, precisely in the ports of Antwerp. And as you have notified us today, we will begin to prepare ship owners in Nigeria; those who have set up ship repair yards, ship building yards, operators and all of those for business to business meeting in November and it is believed that it will be rewarding,” he said.
On his part, Vertongen, said the delegation planned to come to Nigeria in November on a business mission, with the intention of boosting the already existing relationship between the ports community in Lagos and the Antwerp port. He also expressed their readiness to partner with the Agency on port security, safety, and also possible areas of training, adding that the meeting will further be an opportunity for the duo to be official partners.
NIMASA has continued to embrace collaboration and partnership, thereby allowing it to fully actualise its dream of creating a robust maritime sector in line with best global practices.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
